Hand lever mechanism for operating automobile clutch and brake pedals



Nov. A24, 1931. 'Fa P. GIUFFRE HAND LEVER MECHANISM FOR OPERATING AUTOMOBILE CLUTCH AND BRAKE PEDALS Filed Sept. 15, 1930 Patented Nov. 24, 1931 Fannie r. sierras, or cineast,

HAND LEVER MECHANISIJ FOR OEEEi-.ll UTEJGBELE CLUTCH ANDI BRAKE PEDAIS Application file September 15, 1936. Serial No. 481,860.

This invention relates to han nism tor operating automobile 'clutch rand brake pedals, and its principal provide novel mechanism for enablingper-V .L1

V sons, who are unable to depress clutch' and braliefpedals with their drive automobiles. l' Y vAnother object is toprovide hand manipn ulatedA lever mechanism disposed aojacent each other and operatively connected u th the clutch and brake pedals, where depress either or both 'of said pee. hand while controlling the steern with the other hand. u

provide hand manipulated mechanism operating the clutch and'bralre pedals so i.

ranged that saidV pedals may be .freer-ateo with the feet, it so desired.

rEhe invention consists, therefore, in adjacentlhv located hand manipulateddutch and brake pedalv actuating mechanisms havi,n,-f, operative connections between the liand'operatedv levers and the clutch and brale'pedals. It further consists in hand manipulated mechanism for depressingclutch and brake pedals provided with connections to said brake pedal so arranged that the pedals may be depressed with the lect independentlj,7 the hand manipulated mechanism.

The invention Yfurther consists in the sev eral novel features herein aft r fully set forth and claimed. y

rllhe invention is clearly ilestrated i drawings accompanying this specificativ l whiichv Figure 1 is a side elevation ot hand lever mechanism for operating automobile elif-.tch and brake mechanism embedyi A ,.j form of the present invention ane the same applied to the clutch and pedals ot' an automobile; l Fig. 2 is a plan, partly broken out, o,

mechanism with the clutch and bras.V

omitted from the view;

Fig. 8 is an end elevation ot the mecha nism looking in the direct-ion ci the arrow 3 in Fig. 1;

F ig. 4.- is a detail line i-4 of Fig. 1;

Another obi ec cross section taken on. the

to and lever mecha` v taken on thel line 5-5 `of Fig. 4. ReferringV to said drawings,"the reference character 6 Adesignates a fragment ofthe chassis or supporting frame of an automobile, and '.7 the floor boards thereof.A The usualgclutch pedal is seen at 8 and the lbrake pedal at As is well understood, the clutch .pedal is employed vto disengage members of theclutch mechanism when it is desired to shift the transmission gears, and the brake pedal is employed to actuate the brakes when it is desir-ed to stop or sla-cken the speed of the automobile. Ordinarily, the clutch and brake pedals are actuated by the feetof the person driving the automobile, which makes it impossible for one who has notl the use of his lower limbs to drive an automobile.

The-mechanism forY depressing the clutch and brake` pedals by hand comprises, among other things, hand levers 10 and` 11 for operating the clutch and brake pedals, and said hand evers are Vusually located adjacent each other at the left side of the person driv- 'ng the automobile in convenient position o be grasped with the left hand while the .right hand is tree to contr-ol the steering whlel. The hand levers 10 and 11 are tulcrumed upon stud or pin l2 mounted on' a standard 13, which is'boltedV or otherwise secured to t-he chassis or otherframeworl 610i: the automobile at a point somewhat forward or" and at the left of the drivers seat.

@nV theupper end of the standard 13 are spaced segmental bars lll,v 15 and 16 which provide slots therebetween through which the upper ends ot the hand levers 10 and 11 project. The levers are provided with handles l? and 18 on their upper ends and' are also provided with spring pressed pawls` 19 which engage with ratchet teeth 20 formed on the vsegmental bars lll and 15. The dra-wings illustrate .the hand lever 10 in its normal or inactive position and the handlever 11 in its operative position depressing the brake pedal. l

To the lower arms of thev hand levers 10 "and 11 are pivotally connected push'rods,

iig. 5 is detail vertical cross section4 ipo.

, pedal operating member 23.

the automobile and have straps or other pedal engaging members 23 and 24 pivotally connected to their forward ends. The push rods 2l and 22 may be bent up into desired shapes to pass by parts which would otherwise interfere with their operation, and also to bring the pedal engaging members 23 and 24 into alignment with the clutch and brake pedals 8 and 9.

The pedal engaging members are preferably in the form of open loops or hooks which pass around the arms of the clutch and brake pedals and act'to depress said pedals when moved forwardby the hand levers, but, by reason of the open loop or hook construction, the clutch and brake pedals may be depressed by the feet of the driverof the automobile without affecting the hand-manipulated mechanism. This lost motion connection between the pedal operating members and the clutch and brake pedals is of importance, since it permits one to operate the clutch and brake pedals with the feet.

1n operation, and under normal conditions, the hand levers 10 and l1 occupy the forward position, such as is occupied by the hand lever 10, and the clutch and brake pedals are in their raised positions. When it is desired to shift gears, the person driving the automobile draws back the hand lever 10, thereby depressing the clutch pedal 8 through the instrumentality of the push rod 2l and rl`he pawl 19 of the hand lever 10 engages with a ratchet tooth 2O and holds the hand lever in its rear position with the clutch pedal depressed. vVith the clutch pedal thus depressed, the driver: shifts the gears with the gear shift lever of the automobile and then releases the clutch pedalby disengaging the pawl from the ratchet toothpermitting the clutch lever to return to its normal position and therewith moving the hand lever 10 to its forward position.

lVishing to apply the brake, the driver draws the hand lever l1 back to the position shown in F ig. l, thereby depressing the brake pedal 9 through the instrumentality of the push rod 22 and pedal engaging member 241. The parts are held in this position by the pawl 19 of the hand lever 11 and the tooth 20 of the toothed segmental bar with which the pawl engages. TWhen it is desired to release the brakes, the driver disengages the pawl from the ratchet toothpermitting the brake pedal to return to its normal position and Atherewith move the hand lever 11 to its forward position. 1t is well understood that spring return mechanism is provided for the clutch and brake pedals, as is customary in automobile construction, and that when both or either hand lever is disengaged from the toothed segmental bar, the action of the spring on a pedal will operate to return the pedal'to normal position and therewith move the associated hand lever to its forward position.

When it is desired to release the clutch and simultaneously set the brakes, the driver takes hold of both hand levers 10 and 11 and draws them towards him, thereby simultane ously depressing both the clutch and brake pedals. This is usually done when bringing the automobile to a stop, or sometimes when slacking its speed.

More or less variation of theexact details of construction is possible without departing from the spirit of this invention; 1 desire, therefore, not to limit myself to the eXact form of the construction shown and de described, but intend, in the following claims, to point out all of the invention disclosed herein.

1 claim as new, and desire to secure by- Letters Patent:

l. In automobile clutch and brake pedal operating mechanism, the combination of two adjacently located hand levers having adjacent handles whereby they may be actuated separately and in unison, said hand levers having arms extending below the floor boards of an automobile, push rods below the floor boards and one pivotally connected to said arm of one lever and the other pivotally connected to said arm of the other lever,

and open loops pivotally connected to the other ends of the push rods and engaging one over a clutch pedal and the other over a brake pedal.

2. 1n automobile clutch and bralre pedal operating mechanism, the combination of two adjacentlyrlocated hand levers having adjacent handles whereby they may be actuated separately and in unison and having also pawl and ratchet mechanism for holding the hand levers in adjusted position, said hand levers having arms extending below the floor boards of an automobile, push rods below the floor boards, one pivotally Connected to said arm of one lever. and the other pivotally connected to said arm of the other lever, and open loops pivotally connected to the other ends of the push rods and engaging one over a clutch pedal and the other over a brake pedal.

FRANK iaerurrnn 

